Grate key



GLE

June 19, 1934.

GRAT KEY Filed Aug. 10, 1952 INVENTOR /M w w a M R WW ,1 A WW WY .B G

Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,963,877 :GRATEKEY,

George Ziegler, Bogota, N. J.

Application August 10, 1932, Serial No. 628,225 6 Claims. (o1.-110

This invention relates to grate keys and has for an object to provide animproved construction which may act as a master key and may be put on asthe last key on the bar, or at any other desired point, withoutdisconnecting the bar.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grate key which includesthe use of two sections independently mounted on a bar and thenconnected together.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved grate keywhich is an improvement over that shown in my prior Patent No.1,784,772, issued December 9th, 1930.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a top plan view of a gratekey-disclosing an embodiment of the invention, the same being shownapplied to a bar;

Figure 2 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure -1, the barbeing shown in section and one section of the key being in a raisedposition;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the key when in operative position butwith the supporting bar removed;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through Figure 1 onthe line 4-4;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View through Figure 2, onthe line 55.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, 1 indicates the gratekey as a whole, while 2 and 3 indicate the respective sections thereof.The key 1 is mounted on a supporting bar 4 of the usual construction.The key 1, or similar keys, or other shaped keys, as, for instance thoseshown in my prior patent above ,mentioned, are supported by suitablebars, as, for instance, the bar 4, carried by endless chains, or othermembers which form no part of the present invention. In traveling gratesdifferent forms of chains, cross bars or other form of support areprovided whereby various types of grate bars are caused to travel fromone end of a furnace to another around a suitable wheel, and then backto the starting point around a second wheel. This arrangement of endlesschain or belt is old and well known and forms no part of the presentinvention, except that the various keys 1 are used on some kind ofsupport of this kind which utilizes a bar similar to the carrier bar 4,as shown in the drawings.

In most of these forms of grates a number of keys are arranged on eachbar 4, but in many forms it is difficult to mount the last bar in place,and in the present instance key 1 is intended to 1 act as a last key,sometimes known as a master key as it may be applied by a downward and asliding movement, instead of being threadedon the end of the bar as is-customar-y in most cases, as, for instance, the case disclosed in myprior patent mentioned above.

Key 1 is provided with suitable air inlet grooves 5 and an underlappingextension ,6 and an over-I lapping extension 7, .50 as to cQaGt mt simlac f keys when the grate is completed, In addition,

section 3 is provided with a recess 8 merging into what may be termed anaperture 9, while the front is provided with an extension 10 which ispreferably integral, the same having a-large head 11. The extension 10is adapted to project through the slot 12 formed in section 2. This slotmerges into a recessed portion 13 adaptedto accommodate the head 11.From Figure -5 it will be seen that the shoulders 12' and 12 projectinto the slot so as to interlock with the head 11 when the parts areassembled or in functioning 76 position. From Figure 2 it will be notedthat the head 11 is elongated, and when in one position straddles theslot 12 and when in another position is adapted to pass therethrough.The section 2 is also formed with a socket or recess 14 8'0 and near itsrecessed end is arranged a projection 15 integral with the remainingpart of the section, said projection fitting into the notch 8 andpositioned to pass through the aperture 9.

An aperture 16 is formed substantially centrally of the projection 15,and through this aperture and through an aperture 17 formed in section 3a cotter pin 18 is extended, the head of the cotter pin resting againstthe end of section 3 and the inner end of the cotter pin being bent at19 whereby the two sections are locked together.

When applying the key 1 to the bar 4, section 2 is placed on the bar andmoved to the left, as shown in Figure 2, until the hook or dovetailedrecess member 20 straddles one edge of the bar. 96

The section 3 is then held vertically, while section 2 is horizontal,and the head 11 is passed through slot 12, after which section 3 isswung downwardly until the projection 21 strikes the bar 4,

after which it is slid to the right, as shown in 1.00

Figure 2, until the hook 22 interlocks with the bar 4, as shown indotted lines in Figure 2. Substantially simultaneously with theinterlocking operation, the end of section 3 is swung downwardly so thatthe upper surface thereof comes 1 ,68

flush with the section 2, aperture 9 accommodating the extension 15, sothat when the sections are in parallelism, with hooks 20 and 22 engagingthe bar 4, the extension 15 will be in position to receive the cotterpin 18. When the cotter 1'10 pin has been inserted and bent at 19 theparts are locked in position and cannot be removed except by removingthe cotter pin 18.

What is claimed is:

1. In a travelling grate, a carrier bar, a grate key formed with a pairof sections mounted thereon in side-by-side relation, one of saidsections having a hook facing in one direction for straddling one edgeof said bar, an adjacent section provided with a hook facing in theopposite direction adapted to straddle the opposite edge of said carrierbar, said sections being formed with articulated means for connectingone of said sections to the other at one end, said articulated meansbeing formed to permit longitudinal sliding movement of one of saidsections with respect to the other so that said hooks may be moved intoand out of engagement with said carrier bar, and means at the other endfor locking said sections together and against longitudinal slidingmovement.

2. A grate key comprising a body formed from a pair of sections slidablelongitudinally with respect to each other when moved to a substantiallyparallel position, each section having a bar engaging hook on the undersurface, the hook on one section straddling one edge of said bar and thehook on the other section straddling the other edge, and means coactingwith said sections for locking them together after said hooks have beenmoved tofunctioning position.

3., A grate key comprisinga'body formed of a pair of sections, one ofsaid sections having at one end a laterally extending opening, and apair of shoulders, and the other section having a headed extensionprojecting through said opening with the head thereof interlocking withsaid shoulders whereby said sections are slidably and swingablyconnected at one end, and means at the opposite formed with swingableand slidable interlocking means at one end for connecting said sectionstogether.

5. A grate key comprising a body formed of a pair of sections, eachsection having a bar engaging hook, one section having a slot at one endextending laterally therethrough, said slotted section having a recessadjacent the slot'and the other section having a fiatheaded journalmember positioned so that said journal member may extend through saidslot with the head positioned in said recess for swingably and slidablyconnecting said sections, and a cotter pin extending through part of therespective sections for locking said sections when in operative positionagainst sliding and swinging movement.

6. A grate key comprising a body formed of two sections, said sectionshaving bar engaging hooks and also interlocking means for slidably andswingably connecting the sections together at one end so that said hooksmay be brought 105 into the same plane and then slid to straddle theopposite edges of a supporting bar, one of said sections at the free endhaving an apertured extension and the other a notched portion adapted toreceive said extension, said other of said sec- 11-( tions also havingan aperturearranged in alignment with the aperture in said extension anda 'cotter pin extending through both of said apertures for locking saidsections together.

, GEORGE ZIEGLER.

